What Is Yacht Music? Why This Boomer Can’t Hear “Sailing” Without Going Back to 1982

Whenever I hear Christopher Cross singing “Sailing,” I’m instantly transported back to Virginia Beach in 1982.

As someone who came of age in the early 1980s, yacht music wasn’t just a genre—it was the soundtrack of my youth.

Back then, we didn’t call it yacht rock or yacht music. These songs were simply everywhere. Every morning on the way to junior high, the bus driver had the radio playing, and smooth sounds from artists like Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Hall & Oates, and The Doobie Brothers became a staple of my bus route. Even today, hearing those songs instantly brings those years rushing back.

Growing up in Virginia Beach, music was woven into the fabric of everyday life. Like so many teenagers in the early ’80s, my friends and I spent countless evenings “cruising the strip.” Of course, cruising back then didn’t mean being on a boat. It meant piling into someone’s car, rolling down the windows, and driving up and down Atlantic Avenue while the radio provided the soundtrack to our teenage dreams. Ironically, many of those cars were so large that we affectionately called them “boats.” Looking back, it seems fitting that the music we listened to while cruising in those automotive boats would one day become known as yacht music.

And then there was prom.

Our senior prom theme in 1982 was Christopher Cross’ “Sailing.” At seventeen or eighteen years old, standing on the threshold of adulthood, the song perfectly captured our hopes, dreams, and anticipation for the future. Little did we know that decades later, hearing those familiar notes would still have the power to transport us right back to that moment in time.

My connection to this music didn’t end with high school graduation.

In fact, shortly after graduating in 1982, the only modeling job I ever had was for our local classic rock radio station, K-94, in Virginia Beach. Looking back now, it seems almost meant to be. The very music that had filled my bus rides, accompanied our evenings cruising the strip, and provided the soundtrack for my senior prom had become part of my own story in yet another unexpected way.

At the time, I couldn’t have imagined that more than forty years later, I’d still be listening to many of those same songs. Nor could I have imagined that one day I’d be floating on a pontoon boat, hearing Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Steely Dan, and The Doobie Brothers playing through the speakers while reminiscing about my youth in Virginia Beach.

Life has a funny way of coming full circle.

Today, whenever yacht music begins to play, I’m reminded that certain songs never really leave us. They become part of who we are, quietly accompanying us through the seasons of our lives.

Somewhere along the way, I traded cruising in a “boat” in Virginia Beach on Atlantic Avenue for cruising in an actual boat on the water. Yet the music—and the memories it evokes—remain wonderfully the same.

So, What Exactly Is Yacht Music?

If you’re not familiar with the term, yacht music—or yacht rock—is a genre of smooth, polished soft rock that dominated the airwaves from the mid-1970s through the early 1980s. Characterized by silky harmonies, impeccable studio production, sophisticated musicianship, and laid-back melodies, yacht music provided the soundtrack for an entire generation.

Artists like Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan, Toto, and The Doobie Brothers helped define the genre. Songs such as “Sailing,” “Ride Like the Wind,” “What a Fool Believes,” and “Africa” remain classics that continue to find new audiences decades later.

Ironically, the term “yacht rock” didn’t even exist when many of us were growing up. Back then, it was simply pop music, soft rock, or easy listening. The phrase “yacht rock” wasn’t coined until the early 2000s, but somehow it perfectly captures the smooth, carefree feeling these songs evoke.

Maybe that’s why the music remains so beloved. Yacht music reminds us of a simpler time—before smartphones, social media, and twenty-four-hour news cycles. It brings us back to summer nights, first loves, high school dances, beach weekends, and endless conversations about the future.

For me, these songs instantly transport me back to Virginia Beach in the early 1980s—to bus rides with friends, cruising Atlantic Avenue in oversized cars we affectionately called “boats,” and dancing to “Sailing” at my senior prom.

And now, all these years later, I find myself listening to the very same music while cruising on an actual pontoon boat. Somehow, hearing those familiar songs while floating on the water feels exactly right.

10 Yacht Rock Songs That Still Bring Back Memories

Ask ten people who grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s to name their favorite yacht rock songs, and you’ll probably get ten different answers. That’s the beauty of this music. These songs became the soundtrack to our youth, forever tied to memories of summer nights, first loves, beach weekends, and dreams of the future.

Here are ten yacht rock classics that instantly transport me back in time:

1. “Sailing” – Christopher Cross

Of course, this song tops my list. As the theme song for my senior prom in 1982, I can’t hear it without being transported back to Virginia Beach and one of the most memorable nights of my high school years.

2. “Ride Like the Wind” – Christopher Cross

Few songs capture the feeling of freedom and adventure quite like this one. It was made for rolling down the car windows and cruising with friends.

3. “What a Fool Believes” – The Doobie Brothers

With Michael McDonald’s unmistakable vocals, this song remains one of the defining sounds of the era.

4. “Africa” – Toto

Even decades later, this song can instantly fill a room with smiles and spontaneous sing-alongs.

5. “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” – Rupert Holmes

Quirky, fun, and endlessly memorable, this song seemed to be everywhere when I was growing up.

6. “Reminiscing” – Little River Band

Appropriately titled, this song perfectly captures the nostalgic spirit that makes yacht rock so enduring.

7. “Summer Breeze” – Seals & Crofts

This mellow classic still evokes images of warm evenings and carefree summer days.

8. “Steal Away” – Robbie Dupree

Smooth, romantic, and unmistakably yacht rock, this song remains a favorite among fans of the genre.

9. “Baby Come Back” – Player

For many of us, songs like this provided the soundtrack to young love and heartbreak.

10. “Minute by Minute” – The Doobie Brothers

Few songs embody the polished, sophisticated sound of yacht rock better than this timeless classic.

What songs would make your yacht rock playlist? I’d love to hear which songs instantly transport you back in time.

Why Does Music Have Such a Powerful Connection to Memory?

I have not lived in Virginia Beach since 1983. The year after I graduated from high school, I moved away, married, had kids and life took a different direction. I have longed to move back but that just isn’t going to work out at this point in my life. However, have you ever noticed how a song can transport you back to a specific moment in your life within just a few notes?

Scientists have discovered that music is closely linked to the parts of the brain responsible for memory and emotion. Because music often accompanies important life events—first dances, road trips, graduations, weddings, family vacations, and summer adventures—it becomes deeply woven into our personal stories.

Hearing a familiar song doesn’t simply remind us of the past. It can actually help us relive it. Suddenly, we’re not just remembering a moment—we’re feeling it again. We can recall where we were, who we were with, and even how we felt.

For many of us who came of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s, yacht music serves as a time capsule. These songs bring back memories of high school friendships, beach weekends, first cars, summer romances, and dreams of the future.

Perhaps that’s why listening to yacht music while relaxing on our pontoon boat feels so special to me. The songs connect my past and present in a beautiful way. They remind me that while life changes and the years pass, some things—like good music and cherished memories—remain timeless.

And maybe that’s one of the greatest gifts music gives us: the ability to revisit the people, places, and moments that helped shape who we are today.

Creating New Memories with Old Songs

Today, whenever my family and I head out on our pontoon boat and those familiar yacht rock songs begin to play, I’m reminded that music has a remarkable way of connecting our past and present. Try it! You’ll love it!

The songs that once accompanied bus rides to junior high, evenings cruising Atlantic Avenue, and my senior prom in Virginia Beach now provide the soundtrack for a completely different season of life. Yet somehow, they still feel just as meaningful.

Maybe that’s the real magic of yacht music.

It’s not simply about smooth harmonies, polished production, or nostalgia for another era. It’s about memories. It’s about the people we loved, the places we called home, and the dreams we carried with us as we grew older.

And while life has changed in countless ways since 1982, whenever I hear Christopher Cross sing “Sailing,” I’m seventeen again—if only for a few minutes.

I suspect many of you have songs that do the very same thing.

I’d love to hear from you. What yacht rock song instantly transports you back in time? Share your favorite memory in the comments below.